Page 73 of The Vampire Court

Cassius clamps his mouth shut, and a long, tense moment passes between us. Then quietly, he says, “Do you want to be killed?”

“Of course not,” I snap. I understand why Alaric wanted to teach me, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out Cassius’s motivation.

“Then get up.” He straightens and backs up.

It’s a struggle to push to my feet. After my short break, the fatigue has set into every fiber of my being.

Cassius motions with his hand, letting me know he’s about to start. Even with that warning, I don’t have it in me to get my body to cooperate and move in a coordinated way.

I step back, but my knees buckle, and I land hard on my rear.

He sighs and rubs his forehead. “I suppose since it is your first day, I will go easy on you.”

I can’t help the sharp laugh that bursts from my chest. If this is taking it easy, then I’m the mother of demons.

He crouches at my feet and takes one leg in his hand, pushing up the hem of my gown.

Blood speckles my knee from my fall. I take a deep breath and relax back, knowing what will come next—the fiery burn of his power as he heals every wound he’s inflicted.

The second he steps away from me, I jump to my feet and run out the door. My stomach growls, but instead of heading to the kitchen, I hurry toward my room, determined to get dressed before getting something to eat.

Cassius chuckles as he catches up to me in seconds. “You won’t lose me that easily, little bird.”

I do my best to ignore him as he remains at my side. I steal a glance as we near the main floor of the castle. Two voices, as familiar to me as my own, float down the hall.

I stop in my tracks. Cassius’s hand grips my elbow gently. Alaric and Elizabeth pass, arm in arm, by our shadowed stairwell.

They speak, their faces close and voices low. I bite down on my lip to keep from calling out to him.

Alaric’s chin lifts a fraction and angles toward me. The expression on his face is cold, distant, and unfamiliar. An ache blooms in my chest, deep and uncomfortable. He looks away, leaning in closer to the queen and whispers something that elicits a delicate laugh.

I don’t understand what message he is trying to send with that look. Everything about his body language contradicts his words from last night.

I watch the way Elizabeth clings to him and the intimate way they interact within a few strides. The sting of something ugly sloshes its way through my veins, forming a pit in my stomach.

I’m no longer hungry. I don’t move, even after they’ve gone. It takes a long moment before I recognize the emotion.

Jealousy.

“Clara,” Cassius says. He steps in front of me, blocking my view.

I turn my head, not wanting him to see the turmoil of emotions that must be written on my face.

He takes my hand and hooks my arm through his. Normally, I would pull away, but every ounce of fight has left me, and I can’t summon the energy to care as he leads me away.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Clara

I stareat the stone ceiling, too exhausted to do anything more than sit on this lumpy bed and breathe. After Cassius escorted me back to my room, I had every intention of sleeping, but my mind refuses to settle.

The scene replays in my mind over and over. Alaric so close to the queen, the way they touched, the way they leaned into each other… He told me he hated her, but the brief glimpse I had said otherwise.

Knots form, twisting my insides. I hug my pillow tightly to my chest.

Is he deceiving me… or her? And if he has a plan, why wouldn’t he have told me last night?

There’s an ache inside me, not just in my muscles but bone deep. It’s a loneliness I’ve never felt before, hollow, dark, and empty.